Meltdown Management

This blog is designed to give people an inner look at a devotional life. Taking time each day to spend time with the Lord. The hope is if you travel on this journey with Rev. Jacob Shaw, you may be more inclined to spend time with the Lord as well. I encourage the use of a devotional, a scripture reading and prayer, then finally a song, hymn or selection of poetry to tie it all together. 

Today's devotional is taken from: Vujicic, Nick. Limitless Devotions for a Ridiculously Good Life. Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook Press, 2013. pp 109-111.

Opening Thought: Setbacks are one thing, and feeling down is challenging, but when it all hits at once sometimes we spiral and have what we would call a 'melt-down'. The challenge with meltdowns is that everyone does it differently, some people explode in anger, some crumble in sadness, mid-aged people will often have a mid-life crisis, others may burry themselves in obsessive work. Vices will often take hold of people in these moments: drugs, alcohol, gluttony for money, sex, power, possessions or food can become a further detriment. The meltdown we see are not always grand dramatic explosion or implosions, sometimes they just seem like everyday things, which in many ways our secular culture supports.  

The devotional begins with: Psalm 69:20-21
Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness;
I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none.
And for comforters, but I found none,
They also gave me gall for my food and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 

Second Thought: You may have noticed the word “gall” in our passage today. Gall is a unique reference for Christians as it is a bitter tasting substance, derived for woodworm and myrrh. This concoction in wine was offered to Jesus upon the cross, to ease the suffering of death, but according to Mark’s gospel, Jesus did not take it. The reference to gall here could be implying a painful death like heaviness, thus a narcotic like substance is needed to dull the ache. Jesus on the cross pulled back from what would lesson his pain, the question is why, what good would come from feeling pain? Lengthy theological discussion around the passion aside, let us consider what pain does. Pain is a nerve or mental marker to tell us there is something wrong. If we step on a nail and feel a sharp bit of pain, we know something has hurt us, if we did not feel pain we would not react and would run the risk of larger medical issues. Our minds work in a similar way, we feel emotions, letting us know if something is wrong, though emotions can be trickier, because it is easier to medicate, ignore, suppress, or the opposite, exaggerate emotions and use them as justification rather than a warning sign. Christ pulls away from the offering to dull pain, because the pain he suffered that day was for the world, there was a seriousness to it. The pain though did not last forever, because on the third day we would see what recognizing our pain can do, it can give new life. Those I will caution on this, we are not Christ, though we aim to him as a goal in our lives, sometimes we do need something to dull the pain. If we step on that nail, get to the doctor, then may offer painkillers or numb the area to help treat you. If you have a mental or emotional pain, you may need medical support with therapy and prescriptions to help your healing process.     

Continual Work: What would be some signs that you were spiraling or in a meltdown? Who in your life would be able to see this? Talk to those people and make sure they would be able to help you detect it, and make sure they feel comfortable to approach you, if they see this happening? Having a few people in your life who can help you spot when you’re in trouble is a great strategy.  

What Rev. Jacob is Working On: My temper gets short when I am in a bad place. Which often shocks people, when I have mentioned this, people always say, “you seem so calm” or “you a big teddy bear, you mad, no”. Well bears have claws. I need to be mindful about this in myself. A part of the reason so many people think I would not have a temper, is because I owned up to my temper when I was about 18 years old. I put few wholes in walls back then. When I realized that I had a scary side, I had to take responsibility for it. The more I was willing to recognize this pain, the more ability I had to heal and help prevent. Now it is very rare is I feel my temper rise.   

Scripture time: John 14:27

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

The more time you study the glory of the story of Christ, and I say study because there is a dedicated element to it, the more I believe you will find peace in your heart. The beauty of Christ is that God shows us his willingness to reach out to us; when we are in are best God is reaching out to us, and when we are in our worst God doesn’t stop reaching. If anything God reaches more, He is looking for us 'lost sheep' always. In that realization we get gifted with this peace in our heart. A peace to carry with you and in that peace we can in spirit, heal from anything. When our spirit is well, it will help us to navigate the challenges of the finite world and know that the infinite God has us in His hands.  

Closing Words: I hope you enjoyed and were lifted by this devotional time; it is truly important to take time for God each day. By doing so, you welcome God into your life, and in turn you will be able to better see the world through the eyes of God, rather than God through the world's eyes.

Artistic Close:

(Lyrics to “He’s Got the whole world in his hands”)

He's Got the Whole World in His Hands

Laurie London

He's got the whole world in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the itty bitty baby in His hands
He's got the itty bitty baby in His hands
He's got the itty bitty baby in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got a-you and me brother in His hands
He's got a-you and me brother in His hands
He's got a-you and me brother in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got a-you and me sister in His hands
He's got a-you and me sister in His hands
He's got a-you and me sister in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands